Large pelvic mass arising from the cervical stump: A case report.

BACKGROUND: A large cervical cyst with a cervical high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion arising from the cervical stump is rare. After supracervical hysterectomy, there is a risk of various lesions occurring in the cervical stump. We review the types and characteristics of cervical stump lesions and compare total hysterectomy with subtotal hysterectomy. Gynecologists should choose the most suitable surgical method based on both the patient's condition and wishes. If the cervix is retained, patients require a close follow-up. CASE SUMMARY: A 57-year-old woman was admitted to the Gynecology Department for a large pelvic mass. Her chief complaint was abdominal distention for two months. She had undergone subtotal supracervical hysterectomy for leiomyoma 14 years prior. Abdominal ultrasonography detected a 9.1 cm × 8.5 cm × 8.4 cm anechoic mass with silvery fluid in the pelvic cavity and high-risk human papilloma virus 53 (HPV53) was positive. The admission diagnosis we first considered was a pelvic mass mimicking carcinoma of the cervical stump. We performed a laparotomy and a rapid frozen biopsy was suggestive of a fibrous cyst wall coated with a high squamous intraepithelial lesion. The pelvic mass was removed, and a bilateral adnexectomy was implemented. Final pathology confirmed that the pelvic mass was a large inflammatory cyst with a cervical high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion. After successful intervention, the patient was discharged one week after surgery and there was no recurrence of the vaginal stump at 43 mo. CONCLUSION: When addressing benign uterine diseases, gynecologists should pay adequate attention to retaining the cervix. If the cervix is retained, patients require a close follow-up.

Preliminary study on visual recognition under low visibility conditions caused by artificial dynamic smog.

AIM: To quantitatively evaluate the effect of a simulated smog environment on human visual function by psychophysical methods. METHODS: The smog environment was simulated in a 40×40×60 cm3 glass chamber filled with a PM2.5 aerosol, and 14 subjects with normal visual function were examined by psychophysical methods with the foggy smog box placed in front of their eyes. The transmission of light through the smog box, an indication of the percentage concentration of smog, was determined with a luminance meter. Visual function under different smog concentrations was evaluated by the E-visual acuity, crowded E-visual acuity and contrast sensitivity. RESULTS: E-visual acuity, crowded E-visual acuity and contrast sensitivity were all impaired with a decrease in the transmission rate (TR) according to power functions, with invariable exponents of -1.41, -1.62 and -0.7, respectively, and R2 values of 0.99 for E and crowded E-visual acuity, 0.96 for contrast sensitivity. Crowded E-visual acuity decreased faster than E-visual acuity. There was a good correlation between the TR, extinction coefficient and visibility under heavy-smog conditions. CONCLUSION: Increases in smog concentration have a strong effect on visual function.

Combination of fluvastatin and losartan relieves atherosclerosis and macrophage infiltration in atherosclerotic plaques in rabbits.

AIM: To investigate whether the combination of fluvastatin and losartan synergistically relieve atherosclerosis and plaque inflammation induced by a high-cholesterol diet in rabbits. METHODS: Atherosclerosis was induced with a high-cholesterol diet for 3 months in 36 New Zealand white rabbits. The animals were randomly divided into model group, fluvastatin (10 mg·kg(-1)·d(-1)) group, losartan (25 mg·kg(-1)·d(-1)) group, and fluvastatin plus losartan group. After the 16-week treatments, the blood samples the animals were collected, and the thoracic aortas were examined immunohistochemically. The mRNA and protein expression levels of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) were measured using RT-PCR and Western blot. RESULTS: Compared to the treatment with losartan or fluvastatin alone, the combined treatment did not produce higher efficacy in reduction of blood cholesterol level. However, the combination did synergistically decrease the intimal and media thickness of thoracic aortas with significantly reduced macrophage infiltration and MCP-1 expression in the plaques. CONCLUSION: The combined treatment with losartan and fluvastatin significantly inhibited atherosclerotic progress and reduced inflammation associated with atherosclerotic plaques.

Oxidative stress and DNA damages induced by cadmium accumulation.

Experimental evidence shows that cadmium (Cd) could induce oxidative stress and then causes DNA damage in animal cells, however, whether such effect exists in plants is still unclear. In the present study, Vicia faba plants was exposed to 5 and 10 mg/L Cd for 4 d to investigate the distribution of Cd in plant, the metal effects on the cell lipids, antioxidative enzymes and DNA damages in leaves. Cd induced an increase in Cd concentrations in plants. An enhanced level of lipid peroxidation in leaves and an enhanced concentration of H2O2 in root tissues suggested that Cd caused oxidative stress in Vicia faba. Compared with control, Cd-induced enhancement in superoxide dismutase activity was more significant at 5 mg/L than at 10 mg/L in leaves, by contrast, catalase and peroxidase activities were significantly suppressed by Cd addition. DNA damage was detected by neutral/neutral, alkaline/neutral and alkaline/alkaline Comet assay. Increased levels of DNA damages induced by Cd occurred with reference to oxidative stress in leaves, therefore, oxidative stress induced by Cd accumulation in plants contributed to DNA damages and was likely an important mechanism of Cd-phytotoxicity in Vicia faba plants.

Increase of multi-metal tolerance of three leguminous plants by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization.

A greenhouse pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of the colonization of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) Glomus mosseae on the growth and metal uptake of three leguminous plants (Sesbania rostrata, Sesbania cannabina, Medicago sativa) grown in multi-metal contaminated soil. AMF colonization increased the growth of the legumes, indicating that AMF colonization increased the plant's resistance to heavy metals. It also significantly stimulated the formation of root nodules and increased the N and P uptake of all of the tested leguminous plants, which might be one of the tolerance mechanisms conferred by AMF. Compared with the control, colonization by G. mosseae decreased the concentration of metals, such as Cu, in the shoots of the three legumes, indicating that the decreased heavy metals uptake and growth dilution were induced by AMF treatment, thereby reducing the heavy metal toxicity to the plants. The root/shoot ratios of Cu in the three legumes and Zn in M. sativa were significantly increased (P<0.05) with AMF colonization, indicating that heavy metals were immobilized by the mycorrhiza and the heavy metal translocations to the shoot were decreased.

Capillary electrophoresis coupled with electrochemical detection using porous etched joint for determination of antioxidants.

Capillary electrophoresis coupled with electrochemical detection (CE-EC) for determination of antioxidants, propyl gallate (PG) and tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), in cosmetic samples was proposed in this work. A porous etched joint was used to isolate the electrochemical detection from the electrophoretic high voltage. Compared with the 25 microm i.d. capillary without a decoupler in a CE-EC system, a 75 microm i.d. capillary applied in the present system gave an improvement in both sample injection and sensitivity. Moreover, the carbon fiber working electrode could be directly in touch with the end of separation capillary due to the elimination of the effect of separation voltage on the EC detection, so the alignment of working electrode and capillary became easy and the dead volume was also decreased. Baseline separation of the two antioxidants was achieved by CE in a 50 cm long x 75 microm i.d. capillary at 20 kV using 5.0 mmol L(-1) phosphate buffer (pH 8.00). 0.7 V (versus Ag/AgCl) was applied to the carbon fiber electrode for electrochemical detection. Under the optimal condition, the precisions (RSD, n=4) of peak height and migration time of PG and TBHQ were 2.39-3.59% and 0.34-0.44%, respectively. The detection limits of PG and TBHQ were 2.51x10(-6) and 4.88 x 10(-6) mol L(-1) for standard solution and 0.0751 and 0.0328 mg g(-1) for the real cosmetic samples with consumption of 0.3g sample. Analysis of TBHQ and PG in cosmetics samples was also achieved with the present system and the spiked recoveries of two analytes in cosmetics samples were in the range of 93.6-98.8%.

[Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on the toxicity of chlorothalonil on upland rice (Oryzal sativa L.)].

Upland rice was selected as a host plant in a greenhouse-pot-culture experiment to investigate the effects of chlorothalonil and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on the growth and oxidative damage under chlorothalonil stress. The plants were grown with three concentrations of chlorothalonil (0, 50 and 100 mg x kg(-1) soil). The results suggested that chlorothalonil inhibited the growth of upland rice and reduced dry weight of upland rice shoot from 2.5 g x pot(-1) to 1.0 g x pot(-1), and the root dry weight was reduced from 0.9 g x pot(-1) to 0.3 g x pot(-1). However, with AMF colonization the dry weight of upland rice was increased to 2.1 g x pot(-1). With 50 mg x kg(-1) chlorothalonil addition, the P uptake was reduced from 3200 microg x pot(-1) to 860 microg x pot(-1), but the AMF colonization could increased the P uptake to 1900 microg x pot(-1). Chlorothalonil induced oxidative stress indicating by the changes in activities of antioxidative enzyme and AMF colonization could alleviate the oxidative stress. These results showed that chlorothalonil induced oxidative stress and inhibited P uptake in upland rice and AMF could decrease the side effects of chlorothalonil by increasing P uptake and decreasing oxidative damages.

[Chemical fixation of metals in soil using bone char and assessment of the soil genotoxicity].

We evaluate the effects of soil in situ remediation by application of bone char as a soil amendment based on chemical and biological assessment. The application of bone char decreased the Pb in the in the water soluble (WS), exchangeable (EX), carbonate-bound (CAR) and Fe-Mn oxides-Bound (Fe-Mn) fraction but increased the Pb in organic-bound (ORG) fraction indicating the decreased bioavailability of Pb. The application of bone char decreased the Cd, Cu and Zn in water soluble, exchangeable, carbonate-bound fraction by increasing substantial amounts of heavy metals in the ORG fraction or Residual (RES) fraction. The soil genotoxicity was evaluated using plant comet assay of root tip cells of Allium cepa L. and the results indicated that bone char application reduced genotoxcity of heavy metals, decreasing the DNA damages in plants which was consistent with the changes of the chemical forms of Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn indicating the changes of the chemical forms of heavy metals may be one of the reasons for decreased soil genotoxicity.

Effects of exposure time and co-existing organic compounds on uptake of atrazine from nutrient solution by rice seedlings (Oryza sativa L.).

Root uptake of atrazine (ATR) by rice seedlings (Oryza sativa L.) from nutrient solution was investigated with exposure periods of 48, 96, and 240h. A similar ATR uptake was carried out with two co-existing organic compounds (o-chlorophenol (CP) and 2,4-dichlorophenol (DCP)) with 48h exposure. In contact with the seedlings, the ATR level in nutrient solution decreased sharply during the early exposure and then reached relatively steady levels after 48h. It was observed that the ATR levels within whole seedlings approached the estimated equilibrium partition limits in about 48h, according to the partition-limited model utilizing the measured plant water and organic matter contents and the ATR partition coefficients with whole seedlings. However, when roots and shoots were consisted separately, the detected ATR levels in roots were lower than estimated equilibrium limit while the levels in shoots exceeded the equilibrium limit. The data with roots suggested the occurrence of rapid ATR degradation in roots. The results with shoots are intrinsically consistent with the suggested complex formation of ATR with free metal ions in shoots. The ATR levels in roots and shoots varied to a moderate extent when the seedlings were exposed to different levels of ATR-CP-DCP mixtures. The variation results presumably from the interference of coexisting CP and DCP and the phytotoxicity of the mixed chemicals.

Effects of Glomus mosseae on the toxicity of heavy metals to Vicia faba.

A glasshouse pot experiment was conducted to investigate effects of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus mosseae on the growth of Vicia faba and toxicity induced by heavy metals (HMs) (Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd) in a field soil contaminated by a mixture of these metals. There was also uninoculation treatment (NM) simultaneously. Mycorrhizal (GM) plants hav e significantlyincreased growth and tolerance to toxicity induced by heavy metals compared with NM plants. P uptake was significantly increased in GM plants. Mycorrhizal symbiosis reduced the transportation of HMs from root to shoot by immobilizing HMs in the mycorrhizal, shown by increasing the ratios of HMs from root to shoot. Oxidative stress, which can induce DNA damage, is an important mechanism of heavy metal toxicity. GM treatment decreased oxidative stress by intricating antioxidative systems such as peroxidases and non-enzymic systems including soluble protein. The DNA damage induced by heavy metals was detected using comet assay, which showed DNA damage in the plants was decreased by the GM treatment.

[DNA damages and apoptosis induced by cd in the leaves of horsebean Vicia faba].

DNA damages and programmed cell death in leaves of Vicia faba induced by Cd were studied with methods including alkaline/alkaline, alkaline/neutral, neutral/neutral comet assay and DAPI staining. Types of DNA damages induced by Cd were different detected by three types of comet assay. Single strand breakage and alkali labile sites were detected in the leaves of Vicia faba with 5 mg x L(-1) Cd treatment by alkaline/alkaline comet assay. With 10 mg x L(-1) Cd treatments, double strand breakages began to be detected by neutral/neutral comet assay. However, single strand breakages and alkali labile sites were still the main types of DNA damages. Three types of DNA damages increased significantly with 20 mg x L(-1) Cd treatment especially double strand breakages. These results indicated that DNA damages increased with increasing of Cd concentration, which was consistent with the programmed cell death induced by Cd. The result of apoptosis detected by DAPI staining indicated that there existed a relationship between apoptosis and DNA damage. These results indicated that Cd was an element with high genotoxicity and DNA damage was one of the mechanisms of cell apoptosis induced by Cd.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can alleviate the adverse effects of chlorothalonil on Oryza sativa L.

A glasshouse pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of the fungicide chlorothalonil on the growth of upland rice, in the absence or presence of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) Glomus mosseae (NM and GM treatments). The plants were grown with three concentrations of chlorothalonil (0, 50 and 100 mg kg(-1) soil). Mycorrhizal colonization decreased significantly with increasing chlorothalonil concentrations. Plant biomass decreases were smaller in GM plants than in non-mycorrhizal (NM) plants. Mycorrhizal dependency was the highest with 50 mg kg(-1) chlorothalonil. Chlorothalonil affected physiological processes in upland rice irrespective of inoculation. Chlorothalonil at 50 and 100 mg kg(-1) increased ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activity and soluble protein concentrations in shoots and roots of NM upland rice. However, values of APX, catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) were reduced more in GM plants than in NM plants. These results showed that chlorothalonil induced oxidative stress in upland rice and it is needed to evaluate the side effects of chlorothalonil on rice and AMF.

Interaction between cadmium and atrazine during uptake by rice seedlings (Oryza sativa L.).

The uptake of atrazine by rice seedlings (Oryza sativa L.) through plant roots from nutrient solution was investigated in the presence and absence of Cd2+ over an exposure period of four weeks. It was found that both atrazine and Cd2+ were toxic to rice seedlings. Both shoot and root biomasses decreased when the seedlings were exposed to increasing atrazine or Cd2+ concentrations in nutrient solutions. In the absence of Cd2+, a linear relationship was observed between atrazine concentrations in roots/shoots and in external solution, and more atrazine is concentrated in roots than in shoots. When atrazine and Cd2+ concentrations in solution were maintained at mole ratio of 1:1, the accumulation of atrazine by seedlings was less and the seedling biomass was greater than found with other ratios, such as 1:2 or 2:1. Therefore, the formation of the complex between atrazine and Cd2+ reduced the individual toxicities. Analyses of data with the quasi-equilibrium partition model indicated that the atrazine concentrations in rice seedlings and external water were close to equilibrium. In the presence of Cd2+, however, the measured bioconcentration factor (BCF) of atrazine with roots and shoots were considerably greater. The latter findings resulted presumably from the atrazine-Cd2+ complex formation that led to a large apparent BCF.